Frozen in Place
by Rachyrach22
Summary: Brittany's only 14 when she loses her best friend, Santana, and she's not sure her world will ever be the same again. But when she gets another chance to say all the things she didn't get to the first time, things get even weirder. More inside!
1. Chapter 1

_**Loosely based off the plotline of the movie "jack frost". Give it a chance!  
>Have actually wanted to apply Brittana to a loose version of this plot for a while now…and today when I saw it was on TV, and immediately started crying like a baby picturing a Brittana version I knew I had to get it going. <strong>_

_**Enjoy…**_

Ever since Brittany was a little girl, she loved to skate. Ever since the late nights she stayed up with her dad while he watched hockey on TV and she wondered how the players glided across the ice so easily. Ever since she begged and begged until her parents got her a pair of ice skates for her sixth birthday, and while her mother insisted she enroll in youth figure skating classes, Brittany knew that wasn't for her. Ever since the first time she strapped those skates on and zipped around the frozen pond in their neighborhood with her dad, Brittany knew deep down.

She wanted to play hockey.

Sure, it wasn't the most common thing in their town, a girl wanting to play ice hockey. And sure, Brittany's mom wasn't particularly thrilled about her daughter playing one of the most dangerous sports ever invented. But after her and her father practically begged her mother, and the town's youth athletic association, Mrs. Pierce agreed, and the town's hockey team was turned co-ed. They even had two other girls besides Brittany join. Hockey was Brittany's life.

For her whole life, Santana Lopez knew she was pretty good at a lot of things, but really amazing at one thing in particular, and that was singing. From the time she was walking, she was performing in front of people. Her mother had paraded her around to different talent agents , wanting for her daughter to be able to share her gift with the world. Nobody was looking to sign a seven year old to a recording contract, but she did audition and land a spot on a local show called Lima Beat, a spot on a public broadcasting channel where a group of kids would sing, dance and put on silly skits. Santana was a standout talent on the show, and even had an impressive fan base within the confines of Lima. But while Mrs. Lopez kicked back, thinking this was Santana's big break, the show was cancelled two years later, forcing Santana to go back to a normal childhood, playing with her friends and going to school. Santana didn't mind it so much. Plus, she liked having time off where she could watch her best friend Brittany play hockey.

By the time the two were in high school, they were inseparable. Brittany was a star in school, the best hockey player on the team and everybody knew it. College scouts came to watch the games and she was only a freshman. But everybody wanted a piece of the 'big new thing', and that was this beautiful, petit girl wiping the ice with all the guys twice her size and stature.

Santana still worked with a voice coach and went on random auditions, none of them amounting to too much other than scoring a few singing rolls in some musicals at the local town theatre. Her mother still was relentless in sending demo tapes to talent agents in LA and New York City, but Santana never really thought anything would come of it. But she knew her best friend was headed somewhere in life, and that was good enough for her.

….

"So Brit you want to hang out tonight?" Santana asked as she approached Brittany at her locker.

"Can't. I have practice, San. Did you forget about the game this weekend? Playoffs!" Brittany exclaimed, loading some books into her backpack.

"Oh, right. Well maybe I can stick around and watch you practice and then we can go get food after?" Santana suggested.

"Hmm…okay, sure. But nothing too greasy okay? I'm in training. I have to be in top shape for Saturday," Brittany explained.

"Got it. Hey you know it's supposed to snow tonight. Maybe we could talk our folks into a sleepover since we'll probably have a snow day tomorrow," Santana grinned.

"Awesome! My parents probably won't care," Brittany replied excitedly.

"Nice, I'll call my mom after school. See you after Calc? I'll walk you to practice?" Santana suggested.

"Yeah, sounds good. Later Sanny!" Brittany waved and headed off to class.

….

Santana was sitting in the stands of the hockey rink, wrapped in two hooded sweatshirts and a fleece scarf. She talked to her mom on the phone as she watched Brittany glide along on the ice, flicking the practice pucks around with ease.

"Come on, mom. It's no big deal, school's probably gonna be closed tomorrow anyway. And Brit's super stressed about the big game. She could use a night of fun," Santana tried to convince her.

"I don't know, honey…" her mom replied.

"Please mom? Brit's folks are already cool with it. And if school's not closed I promise we'll get up on time and go, no fighting. Please, ma? Please?" she begged.

"Oh, alright. Are her parents picking you up?" she asked.

"Yeah, thanks mom! You're the best!" she replied.

"You're welcome. Behave yourself, you hear me? If the roads are clear I will be calling you to get your butt up for school," she warned.

"Kay, ma. See ya," she replied and hung up. She smiled and waved to Brittany as she looked up at her from the ice. Brittany waved back before speeding off on her skates and firing a slap shot right into the net.

"Okay, everybody gather around!" coach Bieste hollered and everybody skated their way to center ice.

"I don't think I need to tell you guys how big this game is on Saturday. This school's hockey team hasn't went to a championship in seventeen years. Just one more game, and we're going to states. We had a great season either way, but I know you guys all want the title. So for the rest of the week, stay focused. Double practices until Friday," she announced.

"Coach, we're supposed to have a blizzard tonight," one of the players whined.

"Tough noogies! If the roads are that bad I expect you'll all be working your asses off at home! Pierce, wrap this thing up for me," she replied. Brittany took the cue and started skating in a circle around her teammates.

"Alright guys, we got this. Just like coach said, we gotta stay focused. Eyes on the prize, right? This team from Park View High, they have nothing on us! They don't have our speed on the front line, their defense is weak and their goalie is a flopper. You know they're going into this more scared than us, so we have to exploit that. Fast off the break, score when they're looking down and quick back on defense. Who are we?" she shouted, trying to pump up her team.

"Titans!" they all shouted, putting their hands in.

"1,2, 3…" Brittany began.

"Win!" they all yelled, throwing their hands up in the air. Santana couldn't contain herself from clapping as she watched them all skate off toward the locker rooms.

…Later…

Brittany was heavily involved in a hockey game on her Xbox while Santana helped Mrs. Pierce with the dishes from dinner. She had tried to coax Santana into playing, but Santana always lost that damn game, even though she knew all the rules from watching Brittany play for so many years, Brit just always managed to beat her. It was like Brittany's brain was always playing hockey. So Brittany's dad stepped in, challenging his daughter to a hockey duel for the ages.

"Oh come on! That was so roughing!" Brittany whined from the living room.

"What? Not a chance, baby girl. That was clean," her dad replied. Santana and Mrs. Pierce couldn't help but laugh from the kitchen.

"Clean? Dad, the day you play clean hockey is the day I start twirling around the ice in a tutu," she responded.

"No harm, no foul, princess! I didn't hear a whistle!" he jested back.

"That's cause this game is rigged," she decided, hitting the buttons rapidly.

"That's what you get for playing as the Flyers!" he joked, elbowing her gently in the stomach.

"Oh whatever! You just play as the Devils cause you know they tick me off!" Brittany replied, nudging her dad back.

"That's right. Besides I thought you were a Ducks fan?" he asked, sort of redundantly since Brittany was clad in her Ducks hockey jersey.

"I am. Sanny likes the Flyers," she replied.

"Oh. Hey, Santana! I figured out why you always lose at this game!" he shouted into the kitchen. Santana couldn't help but laugh.

"Yeah, that must be why," Santana chuckled, drying plates as Mrs. Pierce handed them to her.

"You know, Santana. I really can't remember the last time those two talked about anything besides hockey," Brittany's mother laughed.

"She is pretty obsessed. But she's good, like the best around here. She's a hero around school. Everybody just knows she's gonna win us states," Santana gleamed.

"And what about you, honey? Any big auditions coming up?" she wondered.

"Nothing major. Glee club is going to regionals. We're up against some really good schools, so I'm nervous," she shrugged.

"I'm sure you'll be marvelous," she assured her.

"Thanks, Mrs. P," she grinned.

"Go on, hang out with Brittany. I'll finish up the dishes," she directed, shooing Santana off into the living room. Santana caught a glimpse of the front yard out the window and smiled.

"Hey Brit?" she called.

"Yeah Sanny?" Brittany replied, not peeling her eyes off the TV.

"It's snowing…" she grinned, immediately knowing the reaction she'd receive. Brittany looked up, craning her neck to see out the window. She smiled at the amount of snow that had already piled up outside.

"Dad…um…rain check?" she requested. He chuckled and took her controller from her, knowing the routine after all these years.

"Go ahead," he grinned, and watched the two girls get dressed and head outside.

….

Even though it was dark, Brittany and Santana had managed to put together a proportionately impressive snowman. This was their favorite tradition, taking place nearly every time it snowed. As Brittany packed in some snow to make sure the top ball was secure, Santana rifled through the box of old hats and other supplies. She pulled out the three pieces of coal they used every year and plopped them into place down the center of the snowman. Meanwhile, Brittany broke two branches off the bushes in front of the house and jammed them in as arms.

"Sanny, your hat! It's perfect," Brittany exclaimed, pulling the fleece ear-flapped hat off Santana's head and wedging it on top of the snowman. Santana giggled as she saw Brittany's face light up. They put on the finishing touches, eyes and a mouth and a nose, just random things they found laying in the yard and driveway. Brittany knew it needed one last thing and pulled the scarf from Santana's neck.

"Geeze Brit, you want me to freeze?" Santana laughed, watching Brittany wrap the scarf around the snowman. Once she was done, she took a step back and smiled.

"How's he look?" Santana asked.

"I think it's a she. And she looks kinda like you, Sanny," Brittany grinned.

"So it's a…snow…woman?" Santana scrunched her nose up in confusion.

"Kind of more like a…snow dork," Brittany teased, sticking her tongue out.

"Oh yeah? Well aren't we funny, Ms. Pierce?" Santana replied, bending down and forming a snowball in her mitten clad hands.

"No! No, no, no!" Brittany giggled, running off. Santana chased after her, winging the snowball right at her back. Brittany fell down dramatically and started flinging snow at Santana as she approached with another snow ball. She pounced on her best friend and they rolled around, tossing snow at each other and giggling until neither of them could feel their toes or fingers.

"Girls, let's go! You're probably waking up all the neighbors!" Brittany's mom called them inside. As they made their way inside and stripped their outer layers in the foyer, Mrs. Pierce brought them each a blanket and handed Santana her cell phone.

"Your mom was calling you before, honey. I didn't get a chance to get it before it stopped," she explained. Santana nodded and started listening to the voicemail she had. Her jaw dropped as it played and she couldn't help but wiggle excitedly.

"What? What is it Sanny?" Brittany asked, equally as anxiously.

"I got an audition! A big one!" Santana exclaimed. Her and Brittany hugged and started jumping up and down excitedly.

"Congratulations honey. Looks like both my girls are gonna be stars, huh?" Mrs. Pierce replied, hugging both of them to her tightly. Santana's mother hadn't left many details on the audition in the voicemail, but she didn't care about that now. An audition meant she would get to sing in front of people, and whether it was five or five hundred, she was happy just to be doing what she loved.

_**Okay, just a sweet little intro chapter to ease you guys in. And yes, parts of this are going to tug at your heart strings. But I'm advising you if you don't like that then don't read this. I think if you stick with it you'll like it in the end, but I can't make that call for you. I really hope you do enjoy though. And if you do, please review. **_

_**I'm going to try and have a new chapter up by later tonight. Please review ;)**_

_**And for those of you who followed me here from The Edge and/or Young at Heart, they will both be updated this week as well. Just have had this one in my brain for ages and had to get rolling on it. **_


	2. Chapter 2

The next day…

Santana woke up in Brittany's room, immediately reaching to cuddle with her best friend out of habit. When her arms were met with the cold other half of the mattress she cracked an eyelid open curiously.

"Brit?" she croaked out, flipping over to look at the alarm clock. It was eight thirty. For a second she panicked, wondering if they did indeed have school and everyone forgot to wake her up. She scampered out of bed and over to the window. She saw the roads were completely jammed with snow. There was no way they had school. So where the hell was Brit?

She made her way downstairs where Mrs. Pierce was reading the paper, enjoying a cup of coffee.

"Good morning, Santana. How'd you sleep?" she asked, chuckling at Santana's bed head.

"Good. Where's Brit?" she asked, taking a seat across from her at the table.

"She's downstairs working out. Where else?" Mrs. Pierce chuckled.

"Oh right. I forgot she's 'training'," Santana replied.

"Yeah. So she had a banana and a protein shake for breakfast, but how about you and I indulge in some French toast and bacon?" she suggested, and Santana felt her stomach grumble immediately.

"That sounds awesome," she grinned back.

"Great. You want some juice? The rest of Brittany's protein shake?" she laughed.

"Juice is good," Santana chuckled back, still rubbing her eyes sleepily. Mrs. Pierce nodded and poured Santana a glass of juice, starting to cook.

"So what's this big audition for?" she asked curiously.

"I'm not sure yet. All I know is that some guy my mom sent a demo to in New York pitched it to some other guy and he liked it. She said she'd explain it to me when I go home," Santana shrugged.

"You excited?" she wondered.

"Yeah. It doesn't matter what the audition's for. I just love performing," Santana replied.

"I know you do. You're going to do something amazing with your voice, Santana. You can sing, you can dance, you're funny…you were freakin adorable on Lima Beat," she told her.

"That was forever ago. So embarrassing," Santana blushed.

"Not at all, honey. I was always impressed. And Brittany always bragged to everyone she met that Santana from Lima Beat was her BFF," she said.

"The people at school always kind of picked on me for it. But it's whatever, they're all lame. Me and Brittany are the only people with any talent at that school, I swear," she laughed.

"Well whatever it is, I'm sure you'll do amazing. Maybe you should call your mom, though. The roads are bad and I don't know when we'll be plowed out so I can take you home," she suggested.

"I'll call her later," Santana decided, taking a few large gulps of her juice.

"Hey Sanny, you're up," Brittany greeted, coming up from the basement with a towel hanging off her neck, her body glistening in sweat.

"Hey Brit. Good work out?" she asked as Brittany grabbed a water bottle from the fridge and sat next to her.

"Yup. Did you see our snowman? Or…our snowSan?" she chuckled.

"Is it destroyed or something?" Santana craned her neck to look out the kitchen window.

"Nope. I think it's the best one we ever did," Brittany grinned.

"It is pretty good. But my Abuela made me that hat and scarf. She'll kill me if she finds out a snowman is wearing them instead of me," she explained.

"Don't worry Sanny. I'll make sure you get them back," Brittany promised.

"Brittany would you like to join Santana and I for a real breakfast? French toast and bacon…" she tried to tempt her.

"Mom! Bacon? I can't eat bacon, I'm…" she started.

"Yeah, yeah, in training, I know. One or two pieces wouldn't kill you, honey," she replied.

"Close enough. I have to be at my best. That means high protein, low fat and only good carbs, two work outs a day and at least 9 hours sleep a night until Saturday," Brittany explained proudly.

"Glad you have your routine worked out, sweetie. Me and Santana are going to live on the wild side, though," she grinned, loading food onto Santana's plate.

"If you insist. I'm going to get a shower," Brittany shrugged, heading upstairs.

…Later…

After the roads had cleared and Santana had enjoyed dinner with the Pierces, Brittany decided to burn off the calories and cross off her second workout for the day, so Mrs. Pierce offered to drive Santana home.

"Well, the roads look pretty clean. I guess we'll have school tomorrow," Santana shrugged.

"Looks like it. That's alright, it'll get Brittany's hyper butt back to hockey practice. One day at home and she was going stir crazy," Mrs. Pierce laughed.

"Yeah, she'll be happy about that. She'd be happier if she could spend her whole life on skates," Santana chuckled back as Mrs. Pierce pulled up in front of her house, noticing the driveway was still covered in snow.

"Um…guess I should've come home earlier to help shovel," Santana observed.

"You want me to stay and help you honey?" she asked.

"No, it's okay. It's just…mom can't do it for long with her asthma so I usually do it. Besides she probably spent the whole day calling people about this audition," Santana guessed. Mrs. Pierce reached over and rubbed Santana's shoulder. She knew life at home wasn't always easy, Santana's father left them shortly after she was born. It was part of the reason her mother pushed so hard for her to use her talent and strike it big.

"Are you sure, sweetie? I really don't mind," she offered again.

"It's fine. It won't take me long," Santana responded, unbuckling her seatbelt.

"Alright. Well listen, I can't wait to hear about your audition, honey. And if I don't see you before the weekend, we're leaving for the game around 9 Saturday morning. It's about a two hour drive," she reminded her.

"Yup, I'll be there. Bye Mrs. Pierce," Santana waved as she closed the car door and scampered through the snow to the front door.

"Ma? I'm home!" she called, taking off her coat in the foyer and hanging it up.

"Hi baby. Did you eat yet?" she asked.

"Yeah, Brit's mom made dinner. You want me to go shovel?" she asked.

"Not right now, honey. I think we have some exciting things to talk about," she said, leading Santana to the couch and sitting her down.

"Right. My audition? What's it for?" Santana asked.

"So there's an agent in Boston who is trying to put together a band. There's some record labels looking for something new and he's going with this 'girl band' approach. Anyway, he called an agent at the firm I sent your demo to, just to see if he knew of any talent because they already have four girls, but he wants someone with a stronger voice on lead vocals. So he played him your demo, he loved it and he wants to meet you!" she explained.

"Girl band? Lead vocals? That's awesome!" Santana exclaimed.

"I knew you'd be excited! This could be your big shot, Santana. This could be everything you've been working for since you were a little girl," she gushed, stroking Santana's hair.

"I hope so, mom. I really want to do this for you," Santana smiled.

"No…no, honey. You do this for you. This is your dream, not mine. Right, baby? This is your dream?" she asked. Santana grinned and nodded excitedly.

"Yeah, mama. This is my dream," she replied.

"Good. So they want to see you, hear you sing a set…we have to be in their New York office Saturday afternoon," her mother instructed.

"Ok…whoa, what? When? Like, next Saturday right?" she asked.

"No, honey. This Saturday. They want to see you as soon as possible, but I told them you will not be missing school until we see contracts. So I'm going to go out Friday morning, get us set up with a hotel room, and meet this guy and make sure he's not shady. Your voice coach Eric is going to drive you out Friday night when you get out of school," she explained.

"Mom, we can't do it Saturday! Brittany's hockey game is Saturday! I promised her I'd be there," Santana protested.

"Honey, she'll understand. You go to all her hockey games, she won't care if you miss this one," her mother assured her.

"Mom, it's the playoffs. She's so pumped up about this game. She's getting scouted, she's going to bring this school our first championship in almost twenty years," Santana told her.

"Santana, this is the chance of a lifetime. Brittany will understand. This is your dream, remember. This is what you want baby," she told her.

"Yeah…I just…ugh…she's going to be mad at me," Santana groaned.

"Even if she gets upset, she won't be forever. She wants to support you just like you support her," her mom told her.

"Okay…" Santana sighed.

Now she just had to figure out how to tell Brittany she wasn't going to be there for her big day.


	3. Chapter 3

_**Thanks if you've been reading this so far. Though, please don't be shy, review! It'll get more into the actual story from here, I just wanted to take my time introducing Brit and Santana and their dynamic. Anyway, review review!**_

The next day…

Brittany was sitting at her usual lunch table, enjoying her typical lunch salad and reading out of her history book when Santana approached her.

"Hey Brit Brit," she grinned, sitting down across from her.

"Hey Sanny. What do you know about World War 2?" she asked. Santana giggled, shaking up her chocolate milk so it would be extra foamy the way she liked it.

"That another war probably came before it," Santana laughed.

"San! Not funny. I have a test," Brittany replied.

"Well why didn't you pay attention in class, Brit Brit? World War 2 is probably the most interesting thing you'll learn about all year in history," Santana guessed.

"I get confused about all the dates and the people's names. I gotta do good on this test. I can't get benched before the playoffs cause of stupid grades," Brittany pouted.

"Relax, Brit. You know it'll be multiple choice. And remember our golden rule…when in doubt go with C," Santana laughed.

"Okay…oh Sanny, I forgot! Did you find out about your audition? My mom wants to know if you'd be too nervous if we came," Brittany brought up.

"Oh…that's sweet but um…it's all the way in NYC," Santana gulped nervously.

"Oh man! What's it for Sanny? Are you gonna be on American Idol?" Brittany guessed.

"No, Brit. They don't call people for auditions, you just go. It's for…um…a band, I guess," she explained.

"A band? Like with a guitar and drums?" Brittany wondered.

"Well probably…but I think they want me and these other girls to just sing and dance. Kind of like Nsync but girls. They think they want me to be the lead singer," Santana replied.

"That's so cool! Sanny you're gonna be a rock star!" Brittany exclaimed.

"We don't know that yet, Britty. I just have to go audition for now. Besides…what if the other girls are total lame-o's? You know how when you do all the work in hockey and your teammates slack off, it gets on your nerves? What if the other girls get like that? I'd get like, really pissed," she explained.

"Give them a chance, Sanny. You didn't even meet them yet. So is it tonight? Cause I have double practice but I can try to get coach to let me out early…" she offered.

"No, Brit. It's not tonight. It's…it's, uh…Saturday," she choked out.

"Oh. Like…this Saturday?" Brittany wondered.

"Yeah. Look, Brit I'm sorry…I tried to talk my mom out of it, tried to get her to ask them if I could come the day after…but Saturday is the latest they will wait for me," Santana explained.

"Yeah…um…hey, I mean it's okay San. It's been a long time since you had an audition, and this sounds like a big deal…" Brittany replied.

"I really don't want to miss your game," Santana admitted.

"It's…um…hey, whatever, right? It's just hockey," Brittany shrugged.

"Just hockey? Brit, are you feeling okay?" Santana reached across the table, feeling Brittany's forehead. Brittany giggled and swatted her hand away.

"I'm fine, San. Look, I love having you at my games cheering me on, wearing my practice jersey and making sure my dad stays busy making fun of the opposite team's coach with you and stuffing his face with nachos so that he doesn't kill the refs for blowing a call or the other team's defenders when they slam me into the boards…but I also love your voice and the way you sing…and I've always wanted you to get it out there to the world. This could be your shot, Sanny bear. So go and land your audition and then when you get back we'll celebrate. And maybe your new girl band can perform the halftime show when I take the team to the championship game next week!" Brittany exclaimed.

"You're not mad Brit?" Santana asked, munching on her now luke warm chicken nuggets.

"No way! It'll be weird without you there, but as long as you're there to watch us win the championship, it doesn't matter. Besides, you're my number one lucky charm, but I never lace up my skates without making sure I have the lucky harmonica you gave me is in the front pocket of my hockey bag," she admitted.

"Damn right, that harmonica is all kinds of lucky," Santana chuckled.

"Besides, it's magic too. Even though I'll be all the way in New York that day, if you play it, I'll be able to hear it. No matter where I am," she continued, winking at Brittany.

After the bell rang, Santana headed off to class, beyond relieved that Brittany wasn't mad about her audition. She finally understood what it meant to have her cake and eat it too.

…Later that week…

Santana had just finished performing a three song set for a few talent agents and was waiting in the lobby while they discussed her. Honestly, she felt like she was going to vomit. She wished Brittany was here to calm her down, reassure her that she did well, soothe her while she paced anxiously.

"Honey, I'm sure you were fine. I heard them clapping from out here," her mother tried to assure her.

"Yeah…um…yeah, ma I'm just nervous. I think I went flat a few times. I could've done better. Maybe I should ask them if I can try again…" she panicked.

"Will you relax? I'm sure you didn't go flat. Relax," she replied.

"I'm gonna try to see the score of Brittany's game," Santana decided and pulled out her phone, dialing Mrs. Pierce's number. She paced back and forth while she listened to it ring.

"Hello?" she answered. Santana could hear all the commotion of the game going on in the background.

"Hi Mama P, it's Santana," she greeted her.

"Hi Santana. How'd your audition go?" she asked, talking louder than usual.

"Not sure yet. Still waiting. How's the game?" she asked.

"Good! The second period is almost over and they're up 3-1. Brittany scored twice already!" she exclaimed.

"Oh man! I can't believe she's having such a good game and I'm missing it," Santana whined.

"It's okay honey. Though I have to say, you look a lot cuter in her practice jersey than I do. Do you think you'll be back in town tonight sweetheart? I'm sure Brit would love a sleepover," she offered.

"Oh I don't know…probably not. Even if they say they hated me, it's a long drive and my mom may just want to crash at the hotel," she explained.

"I'm sure they won't say that! And if they do I'll let Brittany go to town on them with her hockey stick. Listen honey, call later okay? It's hard to hear you in here…oh…go baby go!" she shouted.

"What, what's happening?" she asked. Soon she heard the buzzer go off in the background and everyone start cheering.

"Brittany scored again! She got a hat trick! That's my baby! Yeah, that's my baby girl down there, number 24! Go Brittany!" she yelled.

"That's my girl!" she heard Mr. Pierce shout close by.

"Aww, tell Britty I'm so proud of her and I'll call her later. Bye Mrs. P," Santana hung up.

"Brits got a hat trick. The whole crowd is going insane. I wish I wasn't missing it," Santana pouted, sitting next to her mother.

"It's okay, baby. You'll see the next one," her mother assured her. After a while, one of the agents came out, and both Santana and her mother stood up. Santana gulped audibly, waiting for him to speak.

"Santana," he began.

"Y…yeah," she choked out.

"You were fabulous! Just like I knew you'd be!" he exclaimed. Santana's jaw dropped and her eyes nearly popped out of her skull as he picked her up and twirled her around a few times.

"I knew it, from the first time I listened to this demo I knew you had something special. You're in, kid! They all loved you. You have the voice, the energy, the smile…what do you think? You ready to be a pop star?" he asked.

"I…um…wow, I…" Santana stuttered excitedly.

"Of course she is, aren't you baby?" Santana's mother cut in, hugging her daughter tightly.

"Yeah. Yeah! Wow I can't believe it," Santana exclaimed.

"Thatta girl. Now listen, there's still a lot of technical stuff to be done, so I want you two to go on home, relax and once me and these guys talk deals, facts and figures and whatnot, I'll call you, we'll schedule up a meet and greet with the rest of the girls, work on some songs, start promoting, sound good?" he explained.

"Sounds great. And listen, my daughter is no circus performer. Everything in these deals better be kosher, or I'll go mama bear on all your asses," she warned him.

"Fair enough, don't worry. Just go home and celebrate kid! You made it. Congratulations. The world is your oyster now," he told her, shaking her hand.

Santana was grinning from ear to ear as they walked back to their hotel room. She could not wait to tell Brittany.

_**Review…gonna try to have one more chapter done tonight, we'll see **_


	4. Chapter 4

After some begging and pouting, Santana convinced her mother to make the trip back home right away so she could spend time and celebrate with Brittany. It took the remainder of their day, and a good portion of the night but Santana knew Brittany would still be up when they rolled into town around 2 am, and was pleased to see Brittany's bedroom light still on as her mother pulled up out front of the Pierce's house.

"Her parents are asleep. Don't make a lot of noise," her mother warned.

"Don't worry mama. See you tomorrow," Santana replied crawling out of the van. Brittany peeked out the window, the same as she had every five minutes for the last three hours as she anxiously waited for Santana's arrival. When she saw her, she jumped up and down excitedly and ran downstairs to let her in. Santana walked through the snow covered front yard, taking time to admire the snowman they had built a few days before, still sporting her hat and scarf.

"Sanny!" she heard coming toward her and before she knew what was happening, she was being tackled into the snow.

"Omph…" Santana managed to choke out as she landed on the cold ground with a thud, Brittany flush on top of her.

"Hey Brit…" she groaned, wiggling in an attempt to free herself.

"Not uh…" Brittany objected and grabbed both her arms, holding them down above her head to pin her in place.

"Tell me what happened first," Brittany continued. Santana found herself distracted for a moment by the position they were in, Brittany firmly straddling her hips, hovering closely above her face as she held her wrists tightly pinned to the ground. She'd be lying if she said she didn't nod off and have a few dreams about this in study hall. But that was normal, right? Every teenager fantasizes about kissing their best friend. The fact that Santana just happened to also have fantasies about dating, marrying and having an entire life with hers just made her creative right?

"Um…Brit, it's cold…" she whimpered.

"Shush and tell me about your audition, Sanny!" Brittany pleaded.

"I…uh…I got it," Santana replied with a grin.

"Oh my God! You're gonna be famous! Sanny bear! I'm so proud of you!" she exclaimed, releasing Santana's wrists and laying flush down on her again to hug her tightly. Santana gulped as she felt that tingly feeling appear in her lower abdomen. The same one she got when Brittany would bend over to pick up a book out of her locker or insist on eating a cup of yogurt by constantly dipping her tongue into it instead of just getting a spoon.

Santana took advantage of her now free arms and tied them around Brittany, using the leverage to flip them so she was on top of Brittany now. She pinned Brittany's wrists at her sides and bent down close to her face.

"Now tell me about the game. I heard you were a superstar," she said.

"I…got a hat trick," Brittany choked out, suddenly nervous by the shift in power in the situation. She was used to being in control and going for what she wanted, at least in hockey, but for some reason when it came to her beautiful best friend, she had always been just a little too shy to make a move. But truth was, she was getting impatient with herself. She had always wanted to be able to say that her girlfriend was up in the stands wearing her jersey, instead of just her best friend. And now she could say things like 'Oh yeah, my girlfriend's in the studio' or 'My girlfriend has a concert tonight'. She definitely liked the sound of that.

"Gonna need a little more than that. What was the score? When's the championship game?" Santana asked.

"Um, it was 5-3. And it's two weeks from now. It's in Cincinnati. I have to go on the team bus but mom said you can ride with her and my dad. They're getting a hotel room the day before the game," Brittany explained.

"Road trip with ma and pa Pierce? How can I say no?" Santana chuckled.

"You actually like road trips with my parents?" Brittany laughed back.

"Of course. They're like my parents too, Brit. I mean your dad is the closest thing I'll ever have anyway. They're amazing to me," Santana replied.

"Yeah they're not so bad," Brittany smiled up at Santana.

"We should go inside now because I'm freezing," Santana pointed out. When she tried to stand up, Brittany grabbed her by the collar of her peacoat and pulled her back down until their lips collided. Santana groaned in surprise as Brittany held her in place by the fistfuls of her coat.

"Brit?" was all Santana could choke out once they finally pulled their mouths apart. She touched her lips with trembling fingers, still feeling Brittany's warmth there, still tasting her strawberry lip balm.

"I…um…sorry San. Maybe we should've talked before I did that," Brittany stammered.

"Talk about what?" Santana wondered.

"Um…about me and how I've kinda always wanted to kiss you…and like, be more than friends. And about how I think we should like, date? And I've thought that for a while," Brittany admitted.

"Date. Like girlfriends?" Santana wondered. On the inside she was jumping for joy.

"Yeah. If you want. Oh God…please still be friends with me. If you don't want to date we can still be friends right? Oh God…I ruined everything," Brittany mumbled.

"Shut up, Brit," Santana grinned and leaned down, capturing Brittany's lips in her own once more. Brittany let herself relax when she felt Santana smile against her mouth. She was so unbelievably happy that she finally took a shot and didn't get turned down.

"Hmm, who would've guessed that Brittany Pierce the hockey stud would be gay?" Santana chuckled, placing a few kisses on Brittany's face.

"Hmm, who would've guessed that Santana Lopez would be such a huge dork!" Brittany replied.

"Hey, that's no way to talk about your girlfriend. Now come on, I'm freezing. Let's go cuddle," Santana stood up, offering her hand to Brittany. She pulled her up and the two headed inside hand in hand.

…A few weeks later…

"Hey babe," Brittany smiled as Santana approached her in the hallway. School was done for the day and she was gathering her things for hockey practice.

"Hi babe," Santana grinned back, leaning forward and pecking Brittany's lips.

"Last practice before the championship. I'm starting to get nervous now," Brittany admitted.

"Don't be. Don't forget your cheering section will be there. Me and ma and pa Pierce got our shirts and signs all ready to go," she grinned.

"Shirts? What do you mean, you always wear my jersey," Brittany shrugged.

"Yeah, well this is states baby, I wanted it to be special. I'm still going to wear your jersey at school all day tomorrow and for the pep rally. But for the game me and your mom made t-shirts. They say 'Pierce is Fierce' on them, they're pretty awesome. Me and your dad are even going to pain our faces red and black," Santana grinned proudly.

"God you're even turning my parents into bigger dorks!" Brittany laughed.

"What can I say, I'm the dork they never had," Santana replied.

"Are you staying for practice?" Brittany wondered.

"Can't. Mom's picking me up like, any minute and we're supposed to get a call from my agent. I have to go back to New York at some point and meet these girls I'm going to be singing with. And this time, you're coming!" Santana insisted.

"I know! Once hockey season is over I can like, follow you around the country. Well, at least during the summer I guess," Brittany decided.

"Yeah. It'll be awesome," Santana agreed, looking at her cell phone.

"Mom's outside, I gotta run. Have a good practice baby," she continued, leaning forward for another kiss. Brittany connected their lips, tying her arms around Santana's neck.

"Love you," she whispered as their foreheads pressed together.

"Love you," Santana replied, pulling away unwillingly and turning to leave.

…Later…

"Santana, get in here honey! Phil is calling!" her mother shouted, and Santana scampered into the room with a sandwich she had been munching on in her hand as her mother answered, putting him on speaker phone.

"Hello?" she greeted him.

"Ms. Lopez! It's Phil, Phil Turner! Great news, is Santana around?" he asked.

"She's right here next to me," she told him.

"Hi, Phil," Santana said through a mouth full of PBJ.

"Santana, don't be rude," her mother scolded.

"Hi Santana. So sorry it took a few weeks to get in touch. I've been running around like crazy working out this deal. Anyway, I played your demo and your audition tape for the girls, the band's manager…they all love you and they're ready to make this happen. So I need you in the city by tomorrow night, we're throwing a promoting party, then Saturday we work. We'll bust down some harmonies, talk about songs and what not," he explained.

"No! I can't do it Saturday, please! Please, any day but Saturday, I have to be in Cincinnati," she begged.

"In Cincinnati for a performance?" he asked.

"No…a hockey game. It's Brit's championship game, she needs me there," Santana explained looking at her mother.

"No chance we can do it maybe Sunday, Phil?" her mother cut in, knowing how important this game was to Santana.

"I'm sorry, Santana. There are hundreds more girls dying for this spot. This is what being a musician is about, sacrifice and hard work. I'm sure this, Brittany person will understand. As a matter of fact, if it means that much to you, we'll fly her out after the game and she can come to the party. I'm sure she'll like that huh? Fancy clothes, expensive food, plenty of celbs and record execs… what do you say Santana?" he offered.

"I don't know…" she groaned, rubbing her temples in distress.

"Beep…beep…beep. What's that noise? Oh, that's the money truck backing up in your driveway. Keep driving, Santana doesn't want any!" the man mocked.

"I want to do this for the music more than the money," Santana admitted.

"You're gonna have it all kid. The music, the money, the fans…hell, you could buy this Brittany her own personal hockey rink if you want to," he suggested. Santana knew he was just trying to bait her, but man how much would Brittany love that?

"Alright, fine. I'll come. But wherever I go, Brittany comes too. And she gets whatever she wants. She'll be in the studio when we're recording, backstage when we're performing, and wherever the hell else she wants to be," Santana demanded.

"Fair enough. We'll work all that out later. We'll see you guys tomorrow night, be here by 8," he replied.

"See you then," her mother said and hung up.

"She'll understand, honey. She wants you to have this," she assured Santana, rubbing her back.

"Yeah…" she groaned, not so sure.

"Well maybe you better call her and tell her. And you should take her jersey to her since you won't be in school tomorrow," she suggested.

"Mom, I have to go to school. I at least have to be at the pep rally if I'm missing the game," Santana told her.

"We have to be out the door by no later than 11," her mother explained.

"Fine…I'll go see her," Santana decided. She grabbed Brittany's jersey from her laundry pile and threw on her jacket.

"Want a ride?" her mother asked.

"No…I have to think about what I'm going to say," Santana replied, heading out the door.

When she finally got to the Pierce's home about half an hour later, she saw Mr. Pierce packing up their van for the trip to Cincinnati.

"Hey Santana. I didn't know you were coming by," he said.

"Yeah…um, is Brits home from practice yet?" she asked.

"Yes she is. I think she's playing Xbox. You know her, me and her mother are trying to get everything ready so we don't have to worry about it tomorrow…Brittany on the other hand won't pack until it's time to go and then she'll end up forgetting everything," he chuckled.

"Yeah…um, can I go in and talk to her?" she requested.

"Of course," he agreed and Santana made her way inside. Just like she expected, Brittany was sitting on the couch deeply involved in a game on her Xbox.

"Hey Brit Brit,"

"Sanny, hey! This is a surprise," she exclaimed, pausing the game. Santana took a seat next to her and lay the jersey in her lap.

"Why'd you bring my jersey over? Oh man, are you breaking up with me?" Brittany panicked.

"No, Brit. I do have to tell you something though," Santana mumbled nervously.

"What?" Brittany wondered.

"I heard from my agent…and they want me to go back to New York," she told her.

"Well you knew that already, Sanny. That's a good thing. So when is it? My mom already said I can go but only if your mom is with us like the whole time," Brittany replied.

"I have to be there tomorrow," Santana practically whispered.

"Oh. So you're missing school, whatever. What time will you be back tomorrow? We're leaving for Cincinnati after dinner my dad says. But if you'll be later then that maybe you can just meet us at the hotel?" Brittany suggested.

"I have to stay in New York all weekend, Brit. They want us all to get acquainted, and all kinds of people are coming to watch us sing together…I tried but I can't get out of it," Santana told her. Brittany could barely move she was so shocked this was happening.

"So…you're not coming to my game?" she asked on the verge of tears.

"I'm so sorry, Brit," she replied.

"My big game, my championship game…my first game where I would get to look up and see you there as my girlfriend, and you're not going? What about the shirts? What about how I was going to blow you a kiss every time I scored a goal?" Brittany cried.

"Brit, if I had a choice you know I'd be there. But I told them from now on, you're everything. You go where I go, you get the star treatment too okay? I'm sorry, baby. I'm so sorry," Santana replied. Brittany stood and walked across the room to the foyer where she had her hockey bag. She dug through it, pulling out Santana's lucky harmonica. She wiped away her tears as she walked back over to where Santana sat and handed it to her.

"Here," she muttered, holding it in front of her.

"Brit…the lucky harmonica? You need this remember? I gave it to you. You never lace up without it, remember?" Santana rambled, running her fingers along the cold metal.

"I don't want it," Brittany replied and turned around, heading up the stairs to her room.

"Brit…Brit, please," Santana called after her. The tears were falling freely now as she heard Brittany's bedroom door slam shut. She lay the harmonica on the table next to Brittany's Xbox controller and headed for the front door.

"Santana, what are you doing here?" Mrs. Pierce asked her, coming out of the basement with a basket of laundry.

"Hey Mrs. P, I was just leaving," she sniffed, wiping the tears on her sleeve.

"Honey, what's wrong?" she questioned.

"I…can't come to the game. I have to go to New York. Please tell Brittany I'm sorry," Santana cried and walked out before Mrs. Pierce could question her further.


	5. Chapter 5

The next day…

Santana was almost ready to leave for New York and decided to try to call Brittany one more time while her mother double checked her road trip check list. She knew Brittany couldn't answer because she was in school, but the desperate part of her that just wanted Brittany's forgiveness didn't care.

"Hi it's Brit, I'm busy, leave a message!" she heard the voicemail pick up and sighed.

"Brit, it's me again. Look I'm really sorry. I know you're so mad at me. I promise after this trip, it's all about you okay? I know you don't want me to lose this chance. And from here on out I'll never miss another game again. Please don't be mad at me anymore, Brits. This isn't what life is gonna be like, I swear. I just have to do what they say right now. But once I'm huge they all have to listen to me. Come on, baby if they decided to sign you in the NHL and you had to miss something of mine for a game or a signing you know I'd be okay with that. Just this once, Brit I have to do this and then I'll never miss anything of yours again. Please call me when you get this. I love you," Santana rambled, and hung up.

"Ready baby?" her mother called, climbing in the van.

"Yeah…let's go," Santana replied following suit.

…

Brittany sat at the lunch table going through all the messages on her phone from Santana. She wanted to call her back, but her feelings were hurt and she didn't even know what she would say. She was scared of going into the biggest day of her life without her biggest fan, and she was scared that this was the way things would be from now on. Santana would probably be pulled all over the country soon for tours and stuff, she'd probably never get to see her. It's not like Santana could become a famous singer and still be like a normal kid. Brittany had seen Behind the Music before, she knew how those things happened. Santana was probably gonna be working all the time. Hell, she'd probably even have to move. They had been best friends all their lives, they had only been dating for two weeks. Brittany wasn't ready for it to be over yet.

"Hey Pierce!" she heard someone holler from across the cafeteria. She looked up and saw a few of her hockey friends walking toward her.

"Hey guys," she greeted as they sat down.

"What's wrong? You look bummed," her team mate asked, digging into his food.

"Just been a bad day. Feel kind of…I don't know…betrayed," she admitted.

"Don't be such a girl, Pierce. Get your game face on. This time tomorrow we're gonna be crushing those Panthers and bringing home that damn trophy! Right?" he replied, slamming his fist down on the table. Brittany chuckled quietly.

"Yeah," she muttered.

…

A few hours later…

Santana and her mother were making their way to New York, still about 5 hours away. Santana was moping in the front seat, waiting patiently for her phone to ring.

"She probably has stuff going on with the team honey. She'll call," her mother assured her.

"I feel so bad. She's never been this mad at me," Santana whined.

"She'll get past it. She's just nervous for the game, once they win she'll forget all about it and want to hear all about your stuff," she told her.

"She tried to give me back the harmonica. She's so upset. I don't even feel like doing this, I just want to get it over with so I can go back and talk to her," Santana admitted.

"It'll be okay, honey," came her reply.

"Mom, turn around," Santana demanded.

"What? Honey, we have to be there tonight. We promised," she reminded her.

"Well I promised Brittany first. Maybe that's why she's so mad, ma. Because I'm breaking a promise. Besides, if Phil and the band like me that much, they'll like me still on Sunday right?" she guessed.

"Well, I would assume so…" her mother replied.

"Mama, my whole life you taught me to do what I believe is right. Well, I want to go home and make things right with Brittany. And I want to watch her win our school a championship. I just want to be a kid for one more day, mom. Please," she begged.

"Oh, alright. But you're calling Phil the second we get back," she told her.

"Yes! Thanks mom!" Santana exclaimed.

"I just have to find a place to turn around…" she observed, pulling into a parking lot on the side of the road. She swung the car around and when the light turned green, she pulled back out heading in the opposite direction. As she crossed into the intersection, Santana noticed a truck heading straight for them.

"Mom look out!"

…Later…

Brittany's parents had just settled into their hotel room and were waiting for Brittany to come upstairs after having dinner and a team meeting.

"Too bad Santana couldn't come. I bet her and Brittany would've already been down in that swimming pool," Mrs. Pierce commented.

"Yeah, Brit doesn't seem like herself without Santana here. But I support Santana, you know, she's done everything for Brittany, I'm glad she went out to do something for herself," he answered.

"Too bad Brittany's not as happy about it. But I'm sure they'll work it out when she gets back from New York. Brittany's just nervous and taking it out on her. But I know she's proud of her," she said. She sat up off the bed as she heard her cell phone start to ring, expecting it to be Brittany asking if she could stay out and look around the city with her hockey friends.

"Hello?" she answered.

"Karen…" it was Ms. Lopez, and Mrs. Pierce noticed she sounded stressed out or out of breath.

"Hi…everything okay?" she asked.

"We had an accident. We were circling back because Santana wanted to make things right…" she spoke so quietly Mrs. Pierce could barely hear her.

"Oh God, are you guys okay? You went somewhere and got checked out right? How's the car?" she asked.

"Santana's gone," she practically screamed, overcome by painful sobs. Mrs. Pierce immediately lost her bearings and fell to her knees.

"No…no, no no…" she replied, starting to sob herself.

"They…they ran a red light…they…my baby, my baby…they killed my baby…" she howled into the phone. Mr. Pierce rushed over to his wife, not sure what was going on.

"Its…it's Santana…there was an accident. She didn't make it," she cried, leaning into her husband. His jaw dropped and he slowly wrapped his arms around his wife as she cried. He felt tears of his own form as he rocked her back and forth, as he heard Ms. Lopez's painful cries on the other end of the phone. His heart ached as the door to the hotel room opened and Brittany stared in at the sight of both her parents crying on the floor.

"What's going on?" she asked.

"I'll call you back, okay? Brittany just got back in. Be strong," Mrs. Pierce sniffed as she hung up the phone.

"Mom who was that? Who has to be strong?" Brittany asked nervously.

"Honey, sit down. We have to tell you something," she said, standing up and leading her daughter toward the edge of the bed. Brittany sat and looked up at her parents.

"Honey, there was…there was an accident," her father started.

"What kind of accident? Who had an accident?" she wondered.

"Honey, Santana and her mom had a car accident. That was Ms. Lopez on the phone. She made it out okay. But…Santana died honey," her mom said as gently as she could. She couldn't even believe how horrible the words sounded coming out of her own mouth as more tears started to fall.

"No. No that's not true. No, Santana's not…she's not…that," Brittany replied.

"Honey, why would I make this up? I'm so, so sorry baby. I know this isn't fair. I know you loved Santana very much…I'm so sorry, baby," she cried, hugging her daughter tightly.

"But we had a fight. We had a fight and Santana wouldn't leave me! Santana wouldn't leave me without saying goodbye," Brittany started crying.

"Baby, a lot of times we don't get a chance to say everything we want to say. The important thing is that you loved each other and Santana knew that, even though you had a fight. And you still love her, baby I know you do. Don't ever be afraid to tell her that, because she'll always be right here in you, okay? She'll always watch over you and love you, because that's what she did while she was here with us," she told her, rubbing her back.

"Santana…no…come back…come back Sanny…please…" Brittany sobbed into her mother's shoulder. She couldn't stop the tears from flooding her face as she thought that she'd never see her Santana again.

…

Brittany decided not to play in the championship game, and when the coach and rest of the team heard about why, they decided to forfeit the game completely in honor of their fallen classmate. She had chosen to ride home with her parents instead of on the bus, and it was a silent ride for the most part. Brittany spent most of it reading through Santana's text messages, kicking herself internally for never answering them. She just wanted to wake up from this nightmare.

The whole school closed the day of Santana's funeral, which Brittany knew Santana would've hated. If somebody would've asked her later in life what she remembered from sitting at her girlfriend's funeral, she wouldn't have much to say. She sat there, numb by this point, between Santana's sobbing mother and her own parents. The glee club sang a few somber songs, Santana's tech savvy cousin prepared a slide show of pictures from her life. She was to be buried wearing Brittany's hockey jersey at Ms. Lopez's request. That much, Brittany knew, Santana would approve of. It didn't matter to Brittany, anyway. She resigned her position on the hockey team two days after Santana's death. She wasn't sure how she was going to cope with this, but she knew one thing, it wasn't going to be with the sport she had chosen over Santana. She wasn't sure she'd ever be able to forgive herself for that.


End file.
